"The Journey of Water": STEVEN HAULENBEEK

“S.Pellegrino is a very well known company in the United States and I have been buying its products for a long time. I would have never thought that someday I would be asked to redesign its classic label!”

Steven Haulenbeek is a Chicago based industrial designer and artist. In 2010 he founded his independent design practice with the interest in experimental, material, and process based objects for the home.

Haulenbeek’s first encounter with Giulio Cappellini occurred in 2006 in Chicago, when he had finished grad school, but it would not be another 6 years for Haulenbeek to formally meet the Architect. Jumping forward another few years, the designer spoke of the moment when he was asked by Cappellini to join S.Pellegrino’s "The Journey of Water" project, as being exciting but also “mixed with fear of tampering with such a timeless design”.

Haulenbeek explored the theme of Earth in "The Journey of Water" and based his research on the study of the unique evolution of S.Pellegrino water. Intrigued by the story of the water’s journey through the earth, he said “I visualized the idea of filtration relating to the label’s graphics... Through this visualization, the pyramid form emerged.”

His creation for S.Pellegrino reflects his own design methods, where he takes inspiration from the environment and natural processes. As sculptor and designer, his work surpasses the typical design-build format and instead seeks to invent a production framework by which objects emerge organically.

Most notably, the Ice-Cast Bronze collection pairs the natural freezing cold climate of the Chicago winter with the lost-wax process to create uniquely textured objects and furniture in cast bronze.

The resulting objects and details tell a story of each unique creation. Haulenbeek’s practice, Steven Haulenbeek Studio, is represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris, London, New York as well as The Future Perfect in New York and San Francisco.